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"It's not going to help us for the next six to eight months, you know," said fisherman Mike Rotolo.

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Fishermen who use Lake Pontchartrain told WDSU it will have a ripple effect on their livelihood. Fishing on the lake is big business for dozens of commercial fishermen.

Many use the launch at Bonnabel Boulevard in Metairie to put their boats in the water, and they say opening the Bonnet Carre is bad for business.

Rotolo said when the spillway is opened, water will be allowed to flow from the Mississippi River into the lake, which kills fish. And not just near the spillway.

Fishermen said when the fresh water from the river flows into the saltwater of the lake, it kills fish in popular fishing areas in Jefferson Parish, New Orleans and, in extreme cases, St. Bernard Parish.

This is the second time in 26 months the spillway will be opened to ease tension on the Mississippi River, and fishermen are bracing for the worst.

"It'll be slow, slow fishing for a while and if they leave it open for more then a month it's going to be even longer before the trout start coming in, you know ... maybe at the end of the summer we'll start picking up some decent trout, you know," said Rotolo.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials said all precautions to preserve fish and wildlife will be taken. They said while the short-term effects on fishing are not good, the long-term effects outweigh the negatives.